Welcome to fcsnooker - Snooker Coaching with Frank Callan - 'Snooker World Champions - The Embassy Years' fcsnooker - Top Quality Snooker Coaching and Instruction in association with Mr Frank Callan - General Interest - "Snooker World Champions - The Embassy Years" The 'Embassy' World Championships - Year by Year 1976 - Winner Ray Reardon In 1976 the final of the first embassy world championships was played in Manchester at the Wythenshaw arena. Ray Reardon was up against self-professed, "peoples champion" Alex "Hurricane" Higgins. Reardon won easily after Higgins conceded the match in the penultimate session after missing an easy pink. With Higgins conceding the frame and match early, the last session was not played. 1977 - Winner John Spencer In this year the tournament moved to Sheffield and was to be played at the Crucible Theatre for the very first time. The final was contested between John Spencer and Canadian Cliff Thorburn, with Spencer winning 25 -21.

1978 - Winner Ray Reardon After dominating the game of snooker in the 1970's Ray Reardon won his sixth and last world title against left handed Perry Manns in 1978. This followed earlier wins in 1970, 73, 74, 75 and 1976. 1979 - Winner Terry Griffiths After a hard fought victory over Eddie Charlton in the semi-finals, Griffith's made the now famous quote "I'm in the final now". Facing him was Irishman Dennis Taylor, but after another close game Griffith's emerged triumphant to collect the ï¿½10,000 first prize. 1980 - Winner Cliff Thorburn Fondly remembered as the year of the grinder, this final was a classic mix of styles. Featuring Cliff Thorburn against Alex Higgins, the match combined Thorburn's tactical ability and safety play, with Higgin's natural potting and bravado. An excellent final, saw Thorburn keep his nerve to win 18 - 16. Many wondered if Higgins would ever be world champion again.

1981 - Winner Steve Davis The 1980's began an era of domination by Steve Davis. Over the course of the next 9 years, Davis would feature in eight finals, winning six. The Davis era began here, when Davis convincingly beat Doug Mountjoy, 18 -12. 1982 - Winner Alex Higgins In 1982 the final was contested between two of the most famous names in snooker history, and also two men playing in their last Embassy final, Ray Reardon and Alex Higgins. Higgins proved too strong for Reardon and a 135 clearance in the final frame meant he was champion again, a full ten years after his first win. This prompted the memorable scenes of Higgins calling for his wife and daughter in an emotional aftermath to victory. 1983 - Winner Steve Davis After his shock exit in 1982 to Tony Knowles, Steve Davis was determined to regain his place at the forefront of the game. In the final however, he was up against 1980 champion Cliff Thorburn still celebrating a 147 total clearance in an earlier round against Terry Griffiths. The first televised 147 in Crucible history.

The final was somewhat of an anti-climax with Davis winning comfortably against a strangely subdued Thorburn. 1984 - Winner Steve Davis In 1984, Steve Davis went on to win his third title in four years against the magic of Jimmy "Whirlwind" White. Davis totally dominated the first session and the match looked as good as over. Jimmy, with a combination of skill and courage managed to bring himself back into the game, enjoying an excellent second day of the final. The lead proved too great, the match finished 18 - 16 and Steve Davis was again a worthy Champion. 1985 - Winner Dennis Taylor Perhaps the most famous match in snooker history. Played between reigning World Champion Steve Davis and 1979 loser Dennis Taylor the match had everything. As in the previous year Steve raced into a commanding lead in the first session, only for Dennis to counter attack brilliantly to close the gap. The race continued with both players neck and neck at 17 frames each. The last frame was a little scrappy, which was hardly surprising with all the tension and pressure.

After a compelling battle on the final black in the final frame, 18.5 million viewers, a record for a televised sporting event, saw Dennis Taylor triumph 62 -66, after Davis missed a thin cut back, on the black. Taylor was a very popular winner, breaking Davis's stranglehold on the World Crown. 1986 - Winner Joe Johnson Joe's Year. Playing with the freedom of a man with nothing to lose, 150 - 1 shot Joe Johnson stunned the snooker world when he defeated Steve Davis18 - 12 in 1986. Ever the sportsman, Davis conceded that Johnson had played the best snooker and thoroughly deserved his win. 1987 - Winner Steve Davis This final was a repeat of the previous year when Davis met Johnson. There was to be no repeat result however, with Davis playing excellently to win his fourth world crown 18 - 14. 1988 - Winner Steve Davis The 1988 final had Davis playing 1979 champion Griffiths. Davis was seeking his fifth world title and never looked in danger during this match.

A full nine years after winning the world title against Dennis Taylor, this would be Terry Griffith's last appearance in a crucible final. Although only victorious once at the Crucible, Griffith's overall record stands comparison with most others in the world championships. 1989 - Winner Steve Davis This final saw Steve Davis run out an easy 18 - 3 victor against John Parrot. Parrot struggled to find his best form and seemed to be completely in awe of both Davis and the occasion. Davis meanwhile was at his imperious best, equalling Ray Reardon's record of six world titles. 1990 - Winner Stephen Hendry The start of an era of dominance by the brilliant Stephen Hendry and the beginning of years of despair for Jimmy White, now known as the best player never to win the world title. After predicting in season 86/87 that he would win the title within five years, Hendry defeated White 18 - 12 to become the youngest ever player to win the world championship title.

This was the first of five consecutive appearances in the final for Jimmy White 1991 - Winner John Parrot This final was contested between 1989 runner-up John Parrot and 1990 runner-up Jimmy White. After dominating the the first session 7 - 0, Parrot never looked back winning the match and World Championship title, 18 - 11. 1992 - Winner Stephen Hendry A repeat of the 1990 final saw Stephen Hendry again playing Jimmy White. The match appeared to be going White's way as he progressed into a 14 - 9 lead. At this stage however, Hendry demonstrated all the attributes that have made him arguably the greatest player ever. A ten frame winning run saw him take the title 18 - 14. 1993 - Winner Stephen Hendry Capturing his third title in four years Stephen Hendry completely dominated this final against Jimmy White.

An opening frame break of 136 by Hendry set the tone for the rest of the match, with the final score finishing 18 - 5 1994 - Winner Stephen Hendry Perhaps Jimmy's best chance of winning the title came and went in the final frame of this tremendous match. With the match and title staring him in the face, Jimmy missed a relatively easy black off the spot, allowing Hendry the opportunity to get back to the table. Displaying his customary nerve Hendry completed a 58 clearance to win the title 18 - 17. For Jimmy's legion of fans this was perhaps the most upsetting of his defeats in the Embassy World Championship final. 1995 - Winner Stephen Hendry After three consecutive White v Hendry finals, this championship witnessed a White - Hendry semi-final. The outcome remained the same however, with Stephen Hendry victorious, a maximum clearance to go 8 - 4 up adding to his enjoyment during the match. This resulted in the 1995 title being fought out between Nigel Bond and a Stephen Hendry seeking his fourth consecutive victory and his fifth title in six seasons.

With a century to finish the match in the final frame, Hendry waltzed home a convincing 18 - 9 victor. This was no disgrace to Bond who had enjoyed an excellent tournament. 1996 - Winner Stephen Hendry "C'mon. C'mon". This phrase had reverberated around the Crucible as Peter Ebdon fought his way into the final stages of the tournament and ultimately the final against, who else, but Stephen Hendry. For all his passion however, Ebdon was no match for ice cool Hendry. A wonderful display of consistent snooker would see Hendry comfortably see off the dogged Ebdon 18 - 12, equalling the record of both Ray Reardon and Steve Davis as six times World Champion. 1997 - Winner Ken Doherty Trying to win his sixth consecutive world title Stephen Hendry was this time drawn to play the brilliant Irishman, Ken Doherty, in the final of the world championship.

Alas for Hendry it was not to be, with Doherty winning the match 18 - 12 1998 - Winner John Higgins 1998 saw a newcomer to the world final with John Higgins fighting his way through. Higgins had been earmarked for world title glory many years before as an outstanding junior and was now really beginning to make his talent show on the world stage. Facing him was Ken Doherty playing in his second consecutive world final. Doherty however, was unable to reproduce the form of the previous year enabling Higgins to push home his superiority for an 18 - 12 victory. 1999 - Winner Stephen Hendry Record breaking Scotsman Stephen Hendry did it again. A seventh world title made him the most successful player in world championship history. Up against first time finalist Mark Williams Hendry was rarely in danger, winning 18 - 11. Williams looked somewhat drained from his encounters in earlier rounds, but one thing was sure this talented Welshman would be back again 2000 - Winner Mark Williams The first all Welsh world championship final in snooker history, between beaten finalist from 1999, Mark Williams and the newcomer Matthew Stevens.

Williams won 8- 9 to win his first world title in a match that failed to live up to expectations. 2001 - Winner Ronnie O'Sullivan Ronnie O'Sullivan celebrates with the trophy after the match - Snooker - Embassy World Championship - Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Tuesday May 8. A shell shocked John Higgins,the match finished 18 - 14 and O'Sullivan was a worthy Champion. 2002 - Winner Peter Ebdon New world champion Peter Ebdon admitted he felt he was on a "different planet" as he won a thrilling final at The Crucible. Ebdon held on in a tense deciding frame to beat Stephen Hendry and win a match that finished at past midnight. 2003 - Winner Mark Williams Mark Williams seals a dramatic 18-16 victory over Ken Doherty to clinch the World Snooker Championship. 2004 - Winner Ronnie Osullivan The 2004 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place between 17 April and 3 May 2004 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between Osullivan and Graeme Dott.

Tthe final winner was Ronnie O'Sullivan, beating Graeme Dott by 18 frames to 8 (the fourth biggest margin in a final, equalled by O'Sullivan against Ali Carter in 2008) in the final, despite Dott having led 5–0. 2005 - Winner Shaun Murphy The 2005 Embassy World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 16 April and 2 May 2005 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England. Ronnie O'Sullivan looked to defend his world title which he won in 2004, but the final winner was the relatively fresh faced Shaun Murphy, beating Matthew Stevens by 18 frames to 16 in the final. 2006 - Winner Graeme Dott The final was contested between Ebdon and Graeme Dott, and the victor was Dott by 18 frames to 14, earning him his first professional title in his 12-year career, and a £200,000 cheque.

2007 - Winner John Higgins The 2007 888.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament began on 21 April and ran until 7 May 2007 (with the final continuing into the early hours of 8 May) at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. It was won by John Higgins, who defeated Mark Selby 18–13 in the final. 2008 - Winner Ronnie Osullivan The 2008 888.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 19 April and 5 May 2008 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Ronnie O'Sullivan became the champion for the third time after beating Ali Carter 18–8. 2009 - Winner John Higgins The 2009 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 2009 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship for sponsorship purposes) professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 18 April and 4 May at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. This was the first time that the World Snooker Championship had been sponsored by Betfred.

John Higgins beat Shaun Murphy by 18–9, winning the third world title of his career 2010 - Winner Neil Robertson The 2010 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship snooker tournament took place between 17 April and 4 May 2010 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. John Higgins, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, lost in the second round 11–13 against Steve Davis. In the semi-finals, Neil Robertson defeated Ali Carter 17–12 and Graeme Dott beat Mark Selby 17–14. Robertson won the final 18–13, becoming the first Australian in the modern era to win the title. 2011 - Winner John Higgins The 2011 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 16 April and 2 May 2011 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. It was the 74th edition of the event and was the last ranking event of the 2010/2011 snooker season.

Neil Robertson was the defending champion, but lost 8–10 against Judd Trump in the first round. Trump and John Higgins reached the final by defeating Ding Junhui 17–15 and Mark Williams 17–14 respectively. John Higgins won his fourth World Championship title defeating Judd Trump by 18–15 in the final. 2012 - Winner Ronnie Osullivan The 2012 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship professional ranking snooker tournament took place between 21st April and 7 May 2012 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Ronnie O'Sullivan became the champion for the forth time after beating Ali Carter 18–11. Frank Callan Suite - 282 Ribbleton Lane, Ribbleton, Preston, Lancashire, England - PR1 5EB - tel.

+ 44 (0) 1772 702211 - info@fcsnooker.co.uk Visit the links below for further information>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> History of Snooker - World Snooker History of Snooker Fu on FIRE as he sets up O'Sullivan Semi Final History of Snooker The History of Snooker It is 140 years since a young officer in the British Army, experimenting on a billiard table, came up with the game we now know as snooker. At the 2015 World Championship the best players on the planet were competing for a top prize of £300,000, watched by nearly half a billion people around the globe. Two of snooker’s leading journalists, Hector Nunns and David Hendon, plot snooker’s course from small beginnings to a major international sport… INDIA, BIRTHPLACE OF SNOOKER The first ever Indian Open ranking tournament was staged in New Delhi in 2013, an occasion celebrated with gusto throughout the snooker world.

This was partly due to the emergence of two fine professional players from that country, eventual finalist Aditya Mehta and former billiards champion Pankaj Advani, with the prospect of plenty more to follow. However it also provided the perfect opportunity to reflect upon the very origins of the sport 138 years earlier, with the game having been invented in 1875 by the British Army in the Indian town of Jubbulpore (or Jabalpur, as it is now known) situated around 450 miles south-east of the capital. According to author and essayist Compton MacKenzie in his account in ‘The Billiard Player’ magazine of 1939, young lieutenant Neville Chamberlain (not the former British Prime Minister) was experimenting on the officers’ mess table with the existing game of ‘Black Pool’ featuring 15 red balls and a black. Having thrown on additional coloured balls and heard that rookie cadets at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich were called ‘snookers’, Chamberlain observed that all those present were snookers at this tweaked version of the game, and the name instantly stuck.

His Devonshire regiment, which later became the Devonshire and Dorset and are now known as the Rifles, remain fiercely proud to this day of their role in the invention of snooker. Neville Chamberlain Soon after, Chamberlain was based in the Tamil Nadu hill station of Ootacamund – or ‘Snooty Ooty’, as the exclusive mountain retreat was often known. And such was the young officer’s enthusiasm for his new game there that he even named his horse ‘Snooker’. The further development of the sport took place in the colonial-style Ooty Club, very much a part of snooker folklore and somewhere that current World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn insists remains on his ‘bucket list’ to visit. The club features an original snooker table from the period in use today and walls still thick with tiger, leopard and deer hunting trophies – and it was from here that word and rules of the new game circulated throughout India and the former British Empire. Membership of the club at that time was restricted to “officers of the armed forces, and gentlemen moving in general society”, though luckily for most, those rules have since been eased.

Rumours of this new phenomenon had reached Great Britain and aside from the birth of a certain Joe Davis in 1901 – more of whom later – the years that followed saw snooker slowly grow in the United Kingdom, cue manufacturer and billiards player John Roberts Jr helping to spread the gospel after a trip to India. Around 1910, century breaks were attributed to Scot Tom Aiken, a billiards champion, Cecil Harverson, Phil Morris of Tottenham and Lucania Hall manager George Hargest. The first amateur snooker championship was staged during the Great War, with the result at that time decided by points aggregate after seven frames – a very early precursor to the shorter format of the modern-day European and Asian Tour series. Snooker’s rules, which had featured inconsistencies, were finally dragged together in 1919, also the year that the re-spotted black was introduced to ensure each frame had a winner. How much drama that innovation has produced over the years, and still does to this day. With a number of established amateurs, it took a man who would become snooker’s first superstar to usher in the age of professionalism.

JOE DAVIS AND PROFESSIONALISM Snooker’s next era belonged to one man only – the incomparable and all-conquering Joe Davis. The others involved as professionalism took a hold were more often than not bit-parts in the Joe show and they knew it, with varying levels of resentment. However the years from the mid-1920s unquestionably also marked an exciting phase in the game’s emergence and saw it challenge and overtake the more established game of billiards in the UK, with matches drawing crowds in the thousands. Joe, along with younger brother Fred, was born in Whitwell, Derbyshire just past the turn of the century – sons of a miner who turned publican at the Queens Hotel, Whittington Moor which crucially housed a full-size billiards table. And Joe would go on to become a strong contender for the tag of greatest player of all time with his incredible longevity at the top and unmatched exploits on the table. He won 15 world titles in succession, the last coming after World War Two. He was also the driving force behind the first professional World Championship in 1927, the forerunner of today’s tournament that will be watched by hundreds of millions around the globe.

The famous silver trophy that will be held aloft by this year’s champion on May 5 has not changed – bar a few extra names engraved in the intervening years. Though weaned on billiards and like many others initially looking down on the new sport Joe, a financial pragmatist, immediately saw snooker’s greater earning potential. When he claimed victory from a field of 10 entrants in that 1927 final at Camkin’s Hall, Birmingham, 20-11 against Tom Dennis, the man unable to focus with his right eye and variously called the ‘Sultan of Snooker’ and the ‘Emperor of Pot’ pocketed a princely £6 10s. Sidney Smith, another son of the Derbyshire snooker hotbed of the time, became the first man to make a total clearance (136) at the Daily Mail Gold Cup in 1939.

And the first post-WWII World Championship final between Joe and Australian Horace Lindrum, won 78-67 by the Englishman at the Royal Horticultural Hall to sell-out crowds of 1,200 twice a day for a fortnight, represented a peak leading to almost inevitable decline in interest and commercial sway. Fred won the first of his eight world titles in 1948, and the BBC, who are again providing the pictures from this year’s Crucible action, made their debut outside broadcast coverage of snooker from Leicester Square Hall in 1950. In 1952 a boycott by most of the top players left only two entrants. Lindrum beat New Zealander Clark McConachy 94-49 at Houldsworth Hall in Manchester in a ‘world final’ contest recognised by virtually nobody, though Lindrum’s family were still protesting he was the first Australian to win it when Neil Robertson lifted the trophy in 2010.

And on January 22 1955 Joe, also referred to as the ‘Grandfather of Snooker’, became the first man to have a 147 maximum break officially recognised in an exhibition against Willie Smith that effectively also brought the curtain down on Leicester Square Hall, formerly Thurston’s (a table manufacturer) and an iconic playing venue for half a century. Joe, having already produced at least two coaching manuals, brought out in 1956 the definitive ‘How I Play Snooker’, a sacred text of technical know-how that has since been described as “the bible” for all players by six-time world champion and namesake Steve Davis, handed the book by his father Bill. One of the 56-year-old’s only unfulfilled career ambitions remains to bring out a tome to rival it. However, Joe’s decision to retire from the World Championship in 1946 but continue to play in tournaments and exhibitions seriously devalued the game’s premier event as everyone knew the best player wasn’t in it. It led to a decade of decline before the sport was rescued by a medium which would herald a new dawn.

THE AGE OF COLOUR In July 1969, man first walked on the moon and, that same month, snooker took its own giant leap, which would lay the groundwork for the professional circuit as we know it today. Pot Black was a weekly series designed to showcase the BBC’s new colour service. The controller of BBC2 was David Attenborough, who would become a broadcasting legend through his ground-breaking natural history programmes. He wanted content which could emphasise colour. Snooker, which also had the advantage of being easy to cover, fitted the bill perfectly. Ted Lowe, a former manager of Leicester Square Hall in London, who had lent whispering commentaries to snooker shown by the BBC in black and white, devised the format and eight professionals were invited to play. The series was a huge hit and players quickly became well known, which in turn boosted their capacity to earn money from exhibitions. Joe Davis, John Spencer, Ray Reardon and John Pulman All this had seemed unlikely in 1957 when snooker’s very future appeared doomed when the World Championship was discontinued through lack of interest.

It had been revived by Rex Williams in 1964 and played as a series of challenge matches, all seven of which were won by John Pulman. In 1968, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association was established and the following year the championship reverted back to a knockout format. John Spencer won it in 1969 but Ray Reardon, a former miner and policeman, would dominate the 1970s, winning six world titles. Reardon was the period’s leading player but its star was a young Northern Irishman whose lightning fast skills had been honed in the Jampot club in Belfast. Alex Higgins was a firebrand whose very being seemed destined to challenge the establishment on and off the table. He won the world title at his first attempt in 1972, pocketing a first prize of £480, and spectators packed into exhibitions to watch him play. It was ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, despite his bad behaviour, or maybe because of it, who gained snooker popularity and publicity in this time where Pot Black was still the sport’s main TV outlet.

Sponsors, particularly from the tobacco industry, started to take notice and the BBC increased its coverage with highlights from the World Championship and a new invitation event, the Masters. As Reardon, Spencer and Higgins led the way on the table, things were moving forward behind the scenes under the astute stewardship of Mike Watterson, an independent promoter who was savvy enough to realise the sport’s potential as television exposure created increased sponsorship opportunities. The World Championship had been played in various outposts, including Australia, before Watterson looked for a new home for the 1977 tournament, ideally an intimate set-up which could become a permanent venue for the sport’s Blue Riband event. One night his wife, Carol, returned from seeing a play at a theatre in Sheffield which she thought may fit the bill. And so the stage was set for snooker’s transformation from relative obscurity to front page news as the game hit the heights like never before. DAVIS AT THE HEAD OF THE SNOOKER BOOM The Crucible stands in the middle of Sheffield city centre.

For 50 weeks of the year this theatre-in-the-round stages great dramatic works, but for 17 days annually it becomes a sporting hub where careers are defined and dreams are made or shattered. John Spencer triumphed at the 1977 championship there before Ray Reardon won his sixth world title the following year. 1978 had seen the BBC considerably increase its coverage of the tournament and they were rewarded with stellar viewing figures. In a decade, only Alex Higgins had successfully challenged the Reardon/Spencer grip on the World Championship but the old order was to be irrevocably broken in 1979. Terry Griffiths’s triumph as a qualifier in his first season as a professional acted as a catalyst for many amateurs to take a chance on the pro ranks. One ginger-haired Londoner had already made the leap. Steve Davis of Plumstead was a shy but dedicated player tutored by his father, Bill, and managed by an extrovert businessman called Barry Hearn, who ran a chain of Lucania snooker clubs. Steve Davis As the 1980s dawned, Davis and Hearn set about cleaning up on and off the table.

Davis’s first major success came at the 1980 UK Championship and he ended the season by winning the world title, Hearn barrelling across the Crucible stage and nearly knocking him over in jubilant celebration. With the world champion under his wing, Hearn began to see the possibilities of snooker outside of mere results. With a natural touch for the popular he began to build his Matchroom empire by signing more players and promoting independent tournaments. These were golden years. All over the UK, snooker clubs were opening and a vibrant amateur scene began breeding the stars of the future. ITV had enviously viewed the BBC’s audience figures and began televising its own events. Thus, a professional circuit built up and prize money rocketed. Sponsors were lining up to invest in a sport which the British public watched like a soap opera, with its distinct cast of characters, many of whom found their private lives the subject of unwanted attention from a tabloid press also riding the boom. Higgins was inevitably the subject of many of these stories.

The volatile bad boy of the baize won an emotional second world title in 1982, tearfully beckoning his wife and baby daughter on to the Crucible stage in the moments following his 18-15 victory over Reardon. Cliff Thorburn had become the first non-British world champion in 1980 and made the Crucible’s first 147 break in 1983, a year before another Canadian, Kirk Stevens, made one at the Masters. Jimmy White, who had won the world amateur title at the age of 18, missed out on a world final place in 1982 when Higgins made a miraculous clearance of 69 while trailing 15-14 in their semi-final before winning the decider. White fought back from 12-4 down to Davis in the 1984 final but was beaten 18-16. Davis was indeed the man to beat. He made the first televised maximum break at the 1982 Lada Classic, captured six UK Championship crowns and spent seven years as world number one.

However, he was on the wrong end of the most famous snooker match of the boom years. In 1985, he built an 8-0 lead over Dennis Taylor in the world final and was apparently coasting to a third straight title. Taylor, a Northern Irishman who wore large ‘upside down’ spectacles, fought back and at 11pm they were level at 17-17 with one more frame to play. It lasted over an hour and came down to the final black. Davis had a chance to pot it but missed, leaving Taylor to sink it. 18.5 million viewers were still watching BBC2, a record audience to this day for the channel and for any UK programme broadcast after midnight. Despite this reverse, and one to 150-1 pre-tournament hopeful Joe Johnson in 1986, Davis, like snooker itself, remained imperious throughout the 1980s. In 1989, he crushed John Parrott 18-3 to win a sixth world title. He seemed unstoppable, but a young man from Scotland had other ideas.

THE HENDRY YEARS Every so often in sport there comes along an individual who not only dominates rivals in competition, but introduces a whole new dimension and changes the way a game is played – and Scotland’s Stephen Hendry was to prove just such a figure in snooker. Born in South Queensferry, Hendry was bought a small table by his parents as an afterthought at the age of 12. On such twists of fate are legends formed. He swiftly served notice of a growing force with wins at the Scottish Under-16 and Scottish amateur level, turning professional at the tender age of just 16 years and three months. By the time Hendry retired in 2012, he had set records that may never be broken, and built up a glittering and trophy-laden CV, not least with his achievements on the greatest stage of all, the World Championship at the Crucible Theatre. Hendry’s legacy will therefore not only be title triumphs and memories, but the certainty that many of those now at the top of the game were hugely influenced by what they saw him doing on the table in his pomp, the shots he played and the attacking approach to break-building and single-visit snooker he espoused.

Stephen Hendry With the world waiting for someone to inherit the Steve Davis mantle, Hendry – with manager Ian Doyle guiding his career – unhesitatingly leapt up to the plate. The early milestones came and went. There was a first Crucible appearance at 17, famously being applauded off by Willie Thorne after losing 10-8. And a first ranking title in 1987, as Hendry beat Dennis Taylor 10-7 at the Grand Prix. The dominance truly began in the 1989-90 season, culminating in a first world title – and Hendry, now 45, remains at the time of writing the youngest player to win it at 21 years 106 days. Six further times Hendry lifted the trophy at the Crucible, and inevitably his series of finals against People’s Champion Jimmy White are the best remembered, with the Scot often unfairly cast in the role of the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother.

Four times he snatched the prize away from the Whirlwind, including the remarkable ten frames in a row to win 18-14 in 1992, and the ice-cool 58 clearance to win 18-17 in 1994 with a broken bone in his arm after White had missed a black off the spot in the decider. In these and other successes Hendry was fearless, aggressive, ruthless, focused and determined – and executed tough shots under the most intense pressure time and time again. And he never forgot the trailblazing he was doing for Scottish snooker, walked in by a piper with Alan McManus for their all-Tartan 1993 Crucible semi-final. Not all of Hendry’s finest moments came in Sheffield, though. In 1994 he made seven century breaks in the UK Championship final, beating Ken Doherty 10-5 in Preston. And in 1997 he recovered from losing six frames in a row in the final of the Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge to come out at 8-8 and win the match against Ronnie O’Sullivan with a 147 maximum break.

While it is possible O’Sullivan could get to Hendry’s mark of seven world titles and 775 career centuries, the 36 ranking titles record looks secure for all time as does the 27 consecutive appearances in the final stages of the blue-riband tournament in Sheffield. Victories over Hendry in big matches at or near his peak were rare, hard-earned and for that reason all the more special. Just ask Ken Doherty what beating him in the Crucible final meant in 1997, or Peter Ebdon with his ‘revenge’ showpiece victory in 2002 after losing in the 1996 final. John Parrott and John Higgins also claimed world titles in the 1990s. Hendry also remains the last snooker player to seriously figure in the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year poll, coming second only to Paul Gascoigne in 1990. For many, Hendry gets the nod as the greatest player of all time – but like all reigns his was to end, with a group of players he inspired seizing the initiative.

THE GOLDEN CROP BEAR FRUIT While Stephen Hendry was taking snooker to another level in the early 1990s, a trio of teenagers were taking their first steps on the professional circuit, the start of a journey which would propel all three to the top of the sport. The circuit had gradually grown from a handful of professionals to 128 players, but in 1991 the WPBSA decided to throw the pro ranks open to anyone willing to pay the entry fees. Suddenly there were 700 professionals, a revolution which swept away many of the now ageing characters who were such an important part of the 1980s boom. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s name was known long before he turned professional. His father, Ronnie senior, instilled in him a disciplined practice routine from boyhood and brought leading amateurs to the family home to play his son on their full sized table. O’Sullivan cut a swathe through the amateur ranks and won 74 of his 76 qualifying matches in his debut season, 1992/93.

Snooker had decamped to the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool for a long summer of preliminary rounds and O’Sullivan emerged as the undoubted star. Remarkably, a year later he beat Hendry 10-6 in the UK Championship final the week before he turned 18, becoming the youngest ever ranking event winner. His performances were often dazzling. At the 1997 World Championship he made a 147 break in a record time of just five minutes, 20 seconds. Ronnie O’Sullivan O’Sullivan had the world at his feet. But away from the table, he struggled from depression, triggered by his father’s life conviction for murder. O’Sullivan’s magisterial performances on the baize were therefore coupled with erratic behaviour, disciplinary action and constant threats to retire. He did not win his first world title until he was 25, in 2001. A second followed in 2004 and third in 2008. After his fourth in 2012 he finally went through with his threat to walk away, taking a year off, apart from one minor event.

However, the time away proved to O’Sullivan that snooker was still in his blood. He returned to win a fifth world title in 2013. With four UK and five Masters titles, plus a record 12 maximum breaks, his claim to be the greatest ever was strengthened in his late 30s, when most players decline. He could have won more but for his two contemporaries, John Higgins and Mark Williams, the other celebrated members of the class of 1992. Higgins, an all-round player in the Steve Davis mould, was the first of the three to win the world title. His 1998 triumph saw him end fellow Scot Hendry’s eight-year reign as world number one. Higgins, who had won three ranking titles while still a teenager, was a regular tournament winner but it took him nine years to capture a second world title. He quickly won two more, in 2009 and 2011, as well as three UK titles and the Masters twice. Williams became the third Welshman and first left-hander to win the World Championship in 2000.

In 2003, he won a thrilling contest with Ken Doherty 18-16 to complete a clean sweep of that season’s three major titles, having already captured a second UK Championship and second Masters, a feat only previously accomplished by Davis and Hendry. Laid back off the table, Williams was ruthless on it, his mettle having been proven by edging Hendry 10-9 on a re-spotted black in the 1998 Masters final. O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams were products of the 1980s UK snooker boom. They were inspired by the blanket TV coverage, played in the sundry junior and amateur events and climbed their way up from the bottom rung of the qualifying ladder to the very top. From 1998 to 2013 they won 11 of the 16 World Championships between them. They were the leading lights as snooker entered a new millennium, which would see the sport exploring new global opportunities. SNOOKER GOES GLOBAL Despite its British roots, professional snooker made several forays to foreign climes before travelling became the norm for top players.

South Africa staged challenge matches in the 1960s, the 1975 World Championship was played in Australia, there were regular tournaments in Canada in the 1970s and in the 1980s Barry Hearn’s Matchroom led the way in spreading the gospel to countries such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The first ranking event staged outside the UK was the 1988 Canadian Masters. There were European Opens in France, the Netherlands and Belgium and an Asian Open in China in 1990. Thailand became a regular and popular stopping off point for the circuit in the 1990s after the emergence of James Wattana, who won three ranking titles, including his home event on two occasions. It was not until the new millennium however that snooker’s global reach was truly explored thanks to a Chinese teenager and a pan European broadcaster. Ding Junhui had been touted as a star of the future from a very young age but found the UK-based qualifying set-up tough. He was withdrawn from the 2005 China Open in Beijing and then re-entered as a wildcard.

Sensationally, just days after turning 18, he won the tournament, beating Stephen Hendry 9-5 in the final. 110 million viewers watched on Chinese television and it sparked a boom similar to the one the UK had enjoyed two decades earlier. Meanwhile, Eurosport, which had showed snooker sporadically for years, signed a deal to broadcast every major event, bringing the sport to viewers in 61 countries, many of them completely new to the game. Like British audiences, they had a cast of characters to which to warm. O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams remained the holy trinity but there were world titles too for Peter Ebdon (2002), Shaun Murphy as a qualifier (2005) and Graeme Dott (2006). Ding won two UK titles and Neil Robertson of Australia emerged as a top player, eventually triumphing at the Crucible in 2010. At the Masters, Paul Hunter won three dramatic finals, all in deciding frame finishes having been behind each time. Hunter’s easy going manner, good looks and genuine humility made him a popular new star and his performances helped keep snooker in the spotlight.

Everyone in the sport was devastated when he died from a rare form of cancer in 2006 at the age of only 27. Off table things were less rosy. The UK government had prohibited tobacco companies from sponsoring sport, which helped create a huge hole in snooker’s finances and, despite the increasing global interest, the circuit began to shrink. There was nothing wrong with snooker on the table but its administration needed a serious overhaul to maximise its popularity. The task fell to a man synonymous with the game’s boom years of the 1980s. THE HEARN REVOLUTION Today in 2014 snooker stands as a truly global sport, its tentacles forever reaching into new territories. It is played in 90 countries by over 120 million people, and watched by 450 million worldwide. One of the fastest-growing sports on the planet is also knocking on the door for future inclusion in the Olympic Games. But just a few short years ago the game stood at a major crossroads, having seen the number of full ranking tournaments drop to six, and with leading professionals voicing concerns that their lack of earning opportunities were rendering them little more than ‘part-timers’.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, speaking in 2009 as the situation came to a head, called for a ‘Simon Cowell’ figure to step in and save snooker. As it turned out, that man was Barry Hearn. Former WPBSA and World Snooker chairman Sir Rodney Walker effectively held a vote of confidence in his own regime in December of 2009, and the membership voted 32-24 against his re-election, paving the way for Hearn to assume control. And having been voted on as WPBSA chairman Hearn, determined to succeed in a sport that had kick-started his own career, asked for a mandate from the players to take the commercial rights and move it forward. Barry Hearn Owner of Leyton Orient Football Club, a successful darts and boxing promoter and manager of Steve Davis and formerly a large stable of snooker stars at Matchroom in the 1980s, Hearn pledged in a series of frank exchanges with the players, many of them highly sceptical, to put on more events and increase prize money and earning opportunities.

In a crucial vote in the summer of 2010, Hearn squeaked home by 35 votes to 29. The revolution might easily not have happened, with the new World Snooker supremo insisting he would have walked away had he lost. And he has delivered what was promised in a way that has seen even previously outspoken opponents among the players admit they were wrong, making the regular Players Tour Championship series in Europe and Asia an important part of the calendar. From six full ranking tournaments and a total prize fund for the season of £3.5million in 2009-10, in 2014/15 there were 11 – in addition to the Masters, 9 more European and Asian Tour events, the Champion of Champions, the World Grand Prix, the World Seniors, and the quick-fire, single-frame Shootout in Blackpool. Total prize money now tops £8million. There have been new tournaments put on in Germany, China, Thailand, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia and India.

The years have not been without controversy, with some leading players resistant to the removal of protection previously afforded to the top 16, not least coming in at the 128-man stage rather than the last-32 round – but Hearn and WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson have never wavered in their view that this is how a democratic and properly run sport should operate, along the golf and tennis models. Many within the sport expect India to be the ‘new China’, but if one thing is certain it is that India – where snooker was born in the 19th Century, coming full circle this season – will not be the last new stop on the global route planner as a game which began so humbly continues to fascinate hundreds of millions around the world. Latest News Masters 2018 Tickets On Sale Monday Stay Connected Top 10 Players Who Have Never Won The World Championship – SnookerHQ • ( 9 Comments ) 10 – Doug Mountjoy Some of the players on this list aren’t even 34 yet but this was how old Welshman Doug Mountjoy was when he turned professional in 1976.

Already the world amateur champion, it didn’t take Mountjoy long to taste success in the higher ranks as he quickly captured the 1977 Masters and 1978 UK Championship. Ten years later, at 46 years-old and the UK now a ranking event, Mountjoy won his maiden ranking title and followed it up by capturing the Mercantile Classic. The closest he came to winning the big one was in 1981 when a young Steve Davis claimed his maiden success. Mountjoy arguably fell foul of being slightly too old when snooker’s initial boom occurred. Crucible Record: Final – 1981 9 – Stephen Maguire There are many players on this list who could conceivably still etch their name into the famous World Championship trophy. The second person on here is one such player. Stephen Maguire burst onto the scene in 2004 by winning the European Open before completely dismantling the UK Championship field to collect his one and only major. This led Ronnie O’Sullivan to suggest at the time that the Scot could dominate the sport for the next decade.

Ironically, though, a series of high-profile defeats to the ‘Rocket’ would set Maguire back and arguably his potential has been unfulfilled. Maguire once claimed that he wanted to win in Sheffield before his 30th birthday. At 33, that date has long since passed and one feels time is running out for the gritty Glaswegian. Crucible Record: Semi-Final – 2007, 2012. 8 – James Wattana The boom in China we currently have may never have happened if it wasn’t for James Wattana. Although he hails from Thailand, his success during his first decade on the Main Tour in the early 1990s spread interest across South East Asia and offered the early signs that snooker could go global. Wattana won the 1998 World Amateur Championship and in his next seven years as a pro featured in eight ranking event finals, winning three of them. His best chance of capturing the holy grail came in 1997, when he was narrowly defeated by Stephen Hendry in the last four.

Crucible Record: Semi-Final – 1993, 1997 7 – Paul Hunter We will never know the level of success that Paul Alan Hunter could have enjoyed in this sport, for five days short of his 28th birthday the affable Englishman suffered the final blow following his painful battle with cancer. Known as the ‘Beckham of the Baize’ for his striking good looks, boyish charm and charisma on and off the table, Hunter was a key component in an era largely dominated by the big four – Hendry, O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams. Between 1998 and 2004, Hunter claimed a hat-trick of dramatic Masters crowns, three ranking event titles and reached the 2003 World Championship semi-final. That he lost that match 17-16 to Ken Doherty having led 15-9 going into the last session seemed largely irrelevant given his magnanimity in defeat and the seemingly long future he had in the game to redeem himself. Crucible Record: Semi-Final – 2003 6 – Ali Carter This is perhaps where the list gets a little contentious.

While Ali Carter has been a great player for many years some will argue that there are others, such as maybe Maguire, who deserve to be either on the list or higher up it ahead of the ‘Captain’. That said, it’s difficult to argue with the record of a player who has reached two finals in Sheffield. Carter’s career is one of highs and lows. The 34 year-old has been as high as number two in the world rankings but probably hasn’t garnered enough silverware to be considered alongside the greats or nearly greats. But if it wasn’t for Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2008 and 2012, Carter could be a one or even two-time champion of the world. Crucible Record: Final – 2008, 2012 5 – Eddie Charlton ‘Steady Eddie’ breaks into the top five and again there may be an issue as to the positioning. It’s difficult to compare eras. Charlton’s success mostly came when snooker was just beginning its rise into mainstream media.

The game was not open to as many players and it is questionable as to how well somebody of Charlton’s ability could have fared in today’s age, against the abundance of formidable foes. Yet, one can only beat what is put in front of him or her and Charlton contested three World finals between 1968 and 1975. While it took 61 frames to decide the latter, when he narrowly lost to Ray Reardon 31-30, the Australian’s most success actually came in the single-frame Pot Black tournament, in which he prevailed three times. Crucible Record: Final – 1968, 1973, 1975, Semi-final – 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982 4 – Mark Selby It’s a little hard to believe that Mark Selby is only 30 because it seems like he has been around forever. It took the Leicester native quite a few years to find his feet on the Main Tour but his breakthrough ironically came in the World Championship in 2007 when he reached the final.

He lost to John Higgins on that occasion but that run spearheaded success that has continued to this day. Selby has featured in ten ranking event finals and, though he has only emerged victorious in three of them, he also boasts a trio of Masters titles and five PTC minor ranking event trophies. A former world no.1, Selby has won two of the three BBC majors but since 2007 has not been beyond the semi-finals at the Crucible. Many criticise his style of play, but it is what has ultimately given him so much success in the past. Whether he has the stamina to go all the way in the big one remains to be seen. Crucible Record: Final – 2007, Semi-Final – 2010 3 – Ding Junhui Ding would have been on this list somewhere anyway but the fact that he has had such an imperious season perhaps justifies why he is so high on it. At just 27, the Chinese Sensation has plenty of years of opportunity to land his first World Championship but, as we’ll see with numbers one and two, failure to do so in the prime years could prove fatal come the conclusion of a career.

With a record-equaling five ranking event titles this season, 11 in total as well as victory in the 2011 Masters, Ding is the real deal. We always knew this to be the case and it felt like just a matter of time until his potential was fulfilled. With the weight of expectation from hundreds of millions of Chinese fans on his shoulders, Ding has frequent struggles with pressure has been understandable but by capturing three trophies in his homeland earlier this year he seems to have released an aura of invincibility. This may prove to be the difference in Sheffield, were he has so often struggled in the past. Were he to go on and win the World Championship Ding would become a treasured national icon. Crucible Record: Semi-Final – 2011 2 – Matthew Stevens Some people may forget just how good Matthew Stevens was in the World Championship. The Welshman had and still has a wealth of talent but for whatever reason could not translate this into sustained silverware success. Now 36, Stevens’ best years are probably behind him but at least for him two of his biggest victories came in the majors – the 2000 Masters and 2003 UK Championship.

That he couldn’t add a World Championship was down to a combination of unusually inspired play from his opponents and his own inability to get the job done. He came closest in 2000 and 2005 when he held large leads over countryman Mark Williams and qualifier Shaun Murphy respectively, only to surrender on both occasions 18-16. A master in the long match format, there is still a small chance that Stevens could go close again but his time is certainly running out. Crucible Record: Final – 2000, 2005, Semi-Final – 2001, 2002, 2004, 2012 1 – Jimmy White There was only ever going to be one name in top spot. Burdened with the honour of being the best player to have never won the World Championship is Jimmy White, the People’s Champion. Not many don’t know the story of the ‘Whirlwind’, one of the most popular British sportsmen of all time. White’s career has been a glorious one.

White was the world amateur champion in 1979 and went on to collect 10 ranking event titles and countless invitationals including the Masters on home turf in London. However, his legacy will forever be tainted with his record at the Crucible. Six finals, six defeats. That he contested this many – five in a row between 1990 and 1994 – is testament to how good a player he was but a mixture of bad fortune and poor preparation led to him never adding the holy grail to his glittering collection of accolades. Some hurt more than others. He was favourite to beat John Parrott in 1991 but never recovered from losing the opening seven frames and the following year he was 14-8 up on prime rival Stephen Hendry only to lose the next ten frames in a row. Perhaps most agonising was his last chance in 1994 when, on his birthday, he missed a routine black off the spot in the decider at 17-17 to allow Hendry, the bane of his career for a fourth time, in for another crushing defeat.

White, forever gracious, joked in the immediate aftermath that the Scot was “beginning to annoy me.” Still adored by his legion of fans, White, at almost 52, still believes he can win the big one. Crucible Record: Final – 1984, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, Semi-Final – 1982, 1987, 1988, 1995 Share this: Snooker: Clive Everton unhappy his BBC voice is being silenced | Sport | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close When the BBC's coverage of the Masters snooker begins there will be one notable gap in the commentary box. For the first time in 30 years Clive Everton will not be there, having been demoted as part of an overhaul in the way the corporation covers the sport.

It is a decision that will not only make waves in snooker, where Everton has long been a thorn in the side of a governing body that has sought to silence him on several occasions, but will also reignite a long-running debate over the tone of the BBC's sports coverage. It is, feels Everton, an ignominious way to bring down the curtain on a career of such long standing. "I'm hurt and angry, because I find the reasons presented to me incomprehensible," he says. And it will be pounced on by critics as evidence that the BBC hierachy favours the star quality of former sportsmen over the expertise of long-serving commentators. But it is the manner of his demotion that has most vexed Everton. "A couple of hours before I was due to commentate at the Masters a year ago I was beckoned into a corridor by Graham Frey, head of production for IMG Media, who produce the BBC's snooker coverage," he recalls. "He told me that my BBC career would end 14 weeks hence at the World Championship and that this decision had come from the BBC.

After 30 years' service, I thought this was a bit thick." The 71-year-old Everton, who has fought a running battle with the game's governing body World Snooker as it tried to silence the magazine he edits - Snooker Scene - with costly and unsuccessful libel actions, asked for a meeting with Philip Bernie, BBC Sport's head of programmes and planning. Everton says he was told his demotion was "nothing to do with your ability and nothing to do with your age" but that it was felt his style was "traditional" and something "more chatty and informal" was required. Following the meeting, he was given a temporary reprieve and engaged for the first two tournaments of this season - the Grand Prix and the UK Championship - but told that he would not be required for the Masters and only up until the quarter-final stage of the World Championship. Instead, it is believed Steve Davis and John Parrot will spend more time in the commentary box and the 1997 world champion Ken Doherty will be recruited for the studio alongside the anchor Hazel Irvine, effectively putting current or recently retired players in charge of the biggest matches. "This is no reflection on Clive at all.

It is part of our plan to look at how we can bring snooker to a wider audience," a BBC spokeswoman said, adding that Everton will still be part of the team in a reduced role. She added that it was part of a plan to "refresh" the BBC's coverage. The sport enjoyed huge success in its 1980s heyday and into the 1990s but has since come to a crossroads. Dwindling sponsorship revenues and recent match-fixing allegations have not helped a sport that is reliant on the income from its BBC contract to survive in its current form. David Vine, who retired in 2000 after 40 years at the BBC, said Everton's fate is symptomatic of a wider malaise. "The loss of his contribution to the televised output would leave a large gap but, apparently, as we have seen in many other sports covered by the BBC, the trend is for celebrities, former players and star names to be invited to do the job of professional journalists and trained broadcasters." Everton's demotion will be held up by some as evidence that the BBC has become obsessed with celebrity at the expense of expertise.

It is an emotive argument that has coalesced around often acrimonious disputes with the likes of Stuart Storey, Bill McLaren, Steve Rider, Jonathan Powell and Barry Davies. And it is one that is set to run and run. BBC executives argue that former athletes bring a different perspective and new audiences, pointing to the success of the likes of Steve Cram, Michael Johnson and Gary Lineker. "No sport can stand still and we recognise there has to be a balance," argued one senior source, who also pointed to the decision to hand Peter Alliss a new contract at the age of 77 as evidence that age is not an issue. Even so, there are many without vested interests who feel the pendulum has swung too far. Vine believes it has "led to a decline in standards, even though there have been a few instances of a successful change in career.

Unfortunately, many others have been allowed a free rein to adopt a commentary style which consists of non-stop chatter, schoolboy humour and, at times, pure piffle." BBC insiders claim there is nothing sinister in the decision to move Everton aside and point out that it stood firm on previous occasions when pressure was exerted by the game's governing body over his dual position as Snooker Scene editor and BBC commentator. Everton, also the Guardian's snooker correspondent since 1976, still lives and breathes the sport. If he were to be stripped of his BBC position altogether he would, he calculates, lose 75% of his income. "Nothing has been said about next season but I would be available and keen to continue to work for the BBC," he says. Five veterans of the mic dumped by BBC Stuart Storey Former Olympic athlete who became commentator in 1973. Dropped after 2007 World Athletics Championships but BBC later came back to him with meeting-by-meeting contracts Bill McLaren The 'voice of rugby' and one of the BBC names who became synonymous with their sport.

Retired in 2002, but some colleagues insisted he was pushed under the then director of sport, Peter Salmon Barry Davies Felt aggrieved that he was overlooked in favour of John Motson as audience polls showed he was at least as popular. Retired from football commentating in 2004 but still freelances Steve Rider After 20 years the former Grandstand host clashed with executives over their refusal to give him assurances about his long-term future, despite ITV's offer to present formula one coverage Jonathan Powell After 20 years as the BBC's on-course racing interviewer he was told he would not be doing the job any more. Powell threatened to sue and his case was settled confidentially

Question: Who was the only English winner of the World Snooker championships in the 1990's?
Answer: John Parrott